Masonic Hymn.

Our Order, like the ark of yore,
    Upon the raging sea was tossed;
Secure amid the billow's roar,
    It moved, and nothing has been lost.

When elements discordant seek
    To wreck what God in mercy saves,
The struggle is as vain and weak
    As that of the retiring waves.

The Power who bade the waters cease,
    The Pilot of the Pilgrim Band,
He gave the gentle dove of peace
    The branch she bore them from the land.

In him alone we put our trust,
    With heart and hand and one accord,
Ascribing, with the true and just,
    All "holiness unto the Lord."

George Pope Morris

George Pope Morris was an American editor, poet, and songwriter. Born on October 10, 1802, he made significant contributions to American literature and music. Morris co-founded and edited the New York Evening Mirror, where he published works by Edgar Allan Poe and others. He is perhaps best known for his song "Woodman, Spare That Tree!" and his role in the early 19th-century literary scene. Morris died on July 6, 1864, leaving behind a legacy of editorial and creative work that influenced many American writers and musicians.

George Pope Morris

My Mother's Bible.

George Pope Morris, Simple Poetry

The May-Queen.

George Pope Morris, Simple Poetry

Well-A-Day!

George Pope Morris, Simple Poetry

Starlight Recollections.

George Pope Morris, Simple Poetry

English

Suggested Poems

Explore a curated selection of verses that share themes, styles, and emotional resonance with the poem you've just read.

The Master's Song.

Written for the freemasons of St. John's Lodge No. 1, New York.




Members of an order
    Ancient as the earth;
All within our border
    Realize its worth.
Genial is the greeting
    That awaits us there,
On the level meeting,
    Parting on the square.
Like the workmen olden,
    Who our craft designed,
We the precept golden
    Ever bear in mind.

Masons never falter,
    We each other know,
As around the altar
    Hand in hand we go;
Loud hosannas singing
    To our Source above,
And heart-offerings bringing
    To the God of Love.
Like the workmen olden,
    Who our craft designed,
We the precept golden
    Ever bear in mind.

There's a mystic beauty
    In our working plan,...

George Pope Morris

Our Poor Brethren.

"Our poor and penniless brethren, dispersed over land and sea."
--Masonic Sentiment



They met in the festive hall,
    Lamps in their brightness shone,
And merry music and mirth,
    Aided the feast of St. John.
Men pledged the health of their Queen
    And of all the Royal band,
The flags of a thousand years,
    The swords of their motherland.

Then mid the revelry came
    The sound of a mournful strain,
Like a minor chord in music,
    A sweet but sad refrain;
It rose on the heated air,
    Like a mourner's earnest plea,
"Our poor and penniless brethren
    Dispersed over land and sea."

Poor and penniless brethren
    Scattered over the world,
Want and misfortune and woe
    Round them fierce darts have ...

Harriet Annie Wilkins

The Rock of the Pilgrims.

A rock in the wilderness welcomed our sires,
    From bondage far over the dark-rolling sea;
On that holy altar they kindled the fires,
    Jehovah, which glow in our bosoms for Thee.
Thy blessings descended in sunshine and shower,
    Or rose from the soil that was sown by Thy hand;
The mountain and valley rejoiced in Thy power,
    And heaven encircled and smiled on the land.

The Pilgrims of old an example have given
    Of mild resignation, devotion, and love,
Which beams like the star in the blue vault of heaven,
    A beacon-light swung in their mansion above.
In church and cathedral we kneel in OUR prayer--
    Their temple and chapel were valley and hill--
But God is the same in the isle or the air,
    And He is the Rock that we lean upon still.

George Pope Morris

Oddfellowship Lines Read At Concert, 1883.

        We look in vain for our Past Grands,
        Now scattered over many lands,
        Now some o'er the wide world do rove,
        And some have joined Grand Lodge above,
        But ever since Father Adams' fall
        We are dependent creatures all,
        Though man is weak yet he may join
        With others strength for to combine.

        The illustration it is grand,
        Five Oddfellows in one hand,
        And yet they all united stand,
        Each finger hath a different length,
        Each finger varies in its strength,
        Each one is weak, but a firm fist,
        You can scarcely break or twist,
        'Tis same with members of a lodge,
        United them you cannot budge.

        Then let us linked with pleas...

James McIntyre

Adoniram. A Legend of the Temple.

    The dew was gone,
The morn was bright, the skies were fair,
The flowers smiled neath the sunbeams ray,
Tall cedars grew in beauty there.
As Adoniram took his way,
    To Lebanon.

    Praise his heart filled,
More than four hundred years had fled,
Since from stern Egypt marched the bands,
Whose sons, with Solomon at their head,
And Tyrian brethern's skilful hands,
    Prepare to build.

    He watched them there,
Round every block, and every stone,
Masonic implements were laid,
But around one were many thrown,
And yet it seemed already made,
    Tried, true and square.

    He wandering spake,
"Are not all from one mountain brought
As jewels for a diadem,
Why, have they at this one stone wrought,
Will not...

Harriet Annie Wilkins

The Flag of our Union.

"A song for our banner?"--The watchword recall
Which gave the Republic her station:
"United we stand--divided we fall!"--
It made and preserves us a nation!
The union of lakes--the union of lands--
The union of States none can sever--
The union of hearts--the union of hands--
And the Flag of the Union for ever
            And ever!
The Flag of our Union for ever!

What God in his mercy and wisdom designed,
And armed with his weapons of thunder,
Not all the earth's despots and factions combined
Have the power to conquer or sunder!
The union of lakes--the union of lands--
The union of states none can sever--
The union of hearts--the union of hands--
And the Flag of the Union for ever
            And ever!
The Flag of our Union for ever!
...

George Pope Morris